Your local retail store has a great looking set of bar stools, and you wonder if they’ll work in your bar or restaurant. You only need a few outdoor dining tables and chairs for your cafe’s small outside patio, and you wonder if you can pick them up at your local discount center. Your friend just got a great table at the local furniture store, and you think the design will be a great fit for your restaurant or public dining hall.

Wait! Are they commercial grade?

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There really is a difference between the quality of furniture designed for residential use and the tables, chairs, and bar stools used in commercial settings. Commercial restaurant and hospitality industry furniture must undergo stability, durability, and weight testing to meet the commercial grade standards. These standards are designed to ensure the repetitive usage of the product by people of all shapes and sizes. Much like you would expect your restaurant’s ovens, mixers, and freezers to be of a different grade than your house’s kitchen appliances, the furniture should also stand up to the commercial grade tests. Designed for heavy everyday use, commercial furniture can withstand the rigors of the hospitality industry and typically outlast their consumer grade counterparts. The same is true for office chairs; commercial office chairs are designed to be sat in for ten hours a day, seven days a week, while your home office chair is made for more light duty work.

For example, metal chairs and bar stools designed for home use usually are constructed of 20-22 gauge steel frames. Commercial metal chairs and commercial metal bar stools tend to feature frames of 16-18 gauge steel. The lower the gauge number, the better the quality when it comes to strength and durability. Another example is the type of wood wooden chairs and bar stools are made from. Many consumer products made for the home are built with rubberwood. However, commercial grade wooden chairs and commercial wooden bar stools usually are constructed of beechwood, a better quality wood.

Why is this important to you? For one, even though the upfront cost of a commercial grade chair may be more than a consumer grade chair, you want to avoid the costs (and hassle) of fixing or replacing your restaurant chairs in the future. Also, local retail stores change out their inventory frequently, and if you want to replace a chair for a matching one, you take the risk of not finding the same chair again if you rely on your local store. Secondly, you want to prevent as many accidents as possible, and by using the right commercial grade furniture, you reduce the risk of injury. Residential-designed chairs or bar stools could break and send a customer tumbling to the floor. In addition to someone getting hurt, the costs of settling accident reports and incidents can be great for a business.

That’s why we caution you to buy commercial grade for your business. Look for high quality furniture with added braces and supports, and prevent the hassle you could face if you don’t buy commercial restaurant furniture.